Susan Gillingham - Psalms Through the Centuries, Volume 3

The * Theodore Psalter (fol. 116r) illustrates verse 4 (‘I am counted as those who go down to the Pit’) with an image of Christ being placed in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (John 19:38–42). An angel reaches down; Mary and two women close by are grieving. 262* Khludov (fol. 87r), *Pantokrator (fol. 122r), *Bristol (fol. 415r) and *Barberini (fol. 149v) have similar images. The illustration to verse 7 (‘…You overwhelm me with all your waves’) in the Theodore Psalter (fol. 117v) is of Christ in a sailing boat, in a storm, with two figures in red personifying the wind and sea. ‘Wind’ has a hand to her mouth, indicating she has been silenced. 263The text is Mark 4:36–41 and the illustrations are also found in Khludov (fol. 151v), Bristol (fol. 147r) and Barberini Psalters (fol. 151v). Here the psalm has been turned into an expression of hope.

The *Stuttgart Psalter (fol. 102v), by contrast, reads this in the light of western commentators: Christ is the actual speaker of the psalm. The title given is ‘ vox Christi ad patrem ’. Christ is alone on the cross except for the presence of a demon, yet he still stretches out his hands in this prayer. 264

By contrast, the *St Albans Psalter encloses the illuminated letter ‘D’ (‘ D omine Deus salutis meae die ’) with an image of the psalmist drowning beneath the waves, surrounded by four fish. This is a very different illustration of verses 4–7, and it is of the psalmist praying to Christ: ‘I spread out my hands to you’ (verse 9). Christ, flanked by two other figures, leans over to listen. Though a different reading, this psalm somehow still evokes hope.

There are many contemporary interpretations of this psalm, not least in the light of the atrocities of World War II. One example is of the appropriation of verses 6–9, with its metaphorical description of being cast ‘in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.’ During the Holocaust years those who hid in makeshift bunkers and cellars called them ‘ bor taḥtiyyot’ (‘the pit of the depths’) making literal what was once figurative in this psalm. 265

This is one of the few psalms whose reception really wrestles with unanswered personal questions about the character of God: in Christian tradition, the questions are about the extent to which God in Christ suffers with and for his people, and in Jewish tradition, the questions are about his justice and power to ‘restore’ his people.

This composite psalm is linked to 88 by virtue of it being another ‘ maskil ’ of Ezrahite (and hence perhaps also from *Korahite) origins, although it stands somewhat apart from the rest of the Korahite collection. The beginning of Ps. 89 is a stark contrast to 88. For example, whereas 88:11 questions God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, 89:2 affirms it; similarly, God’s ‘wonders’ which are questioned in 88:10 are affirmed in 89:5. The editors have probably set these psalms side by side because at the end of the psalm, its questions about man and death (89:48) mirror those in 88:4–5 (although as we shall see, the end of Psalm 89 might also be seen in a more positive light). Each psalm speaks of God’s rejection (89:38; see 88:14) and of his hiding (89:46; see 88:14). But Psalm 89 is very different as it is a composite psalm, brought together from at least three parts: it first rejoices in the Davidic covenant (verses 1–4) and in the kingship of God (verses 5–18); it then confidently proclaims, in detail, the making of the Davidic covenant (verses 19–37) in a recital of history, using 2 Sam. 7:8–17, which has several affinities with Psalm 78. * Selah occurs at verses 4, 37 and 45, marking off two of these four divisions. The psalm ends with a lament because the king has been defeated and the covenant seems to have been forgotten (verses 38–51).

Given that most of the psalms in Book Three have focussed on the Moses and Exodus tradition (the end of Psalm 78 and the heading to Psalm 86 being exceptions), the introduction of David within the psalm is a surprise, not least because the extended focus is more on the king himself and not on the Zion/Temple traditions which were prominent in earlier psalms. Given that the introduction and praise of David is effectively used as a means of protesting to God at the end of the psalm because of the demise of the monarchy, it is clear that the overall impact of the psalm is not to express confidence in the Davidic covenant, but perplexity in its having been broken. Nevertheless, much depends on how we interpret verse 47 (‘How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?’) and verse 50 (‘Lord, where is your steadfast love of old?’) which might be seen, in line with the pleas for God to ‘remember’ which have resonated throughout Book Three, as intended to move God to act favourably on his people once again rather than as an accusation that God has completely forgotten his people. If one can read the ending of this psalm in a somewhat more hopeful light this actually places the tenor of the psalm closer to Psalm 78; as we noted, this psalm too has an equally interesting place in the heart of the *Asaphite psalms. 266A more hopeful ending also places the end of Book Three closer to Psalm 73 at the beginning of it, with its similar questions about God’s justice, but with its more positive ending. 267Recent scholarship has mainly emphasised the pessimistic ending to Psalm 89, arguing that Book Three ends without hope and can only be made sense of in the light of Psalm 90 (‘A Psalm of Moses’) at the beginning of Book Four. If we see Psalm 89 as still reflecting hope rather than accusation, there is more continuity between Books Three and Four, a point we shall return to in looking at Psalm 90. 268This is a point developed by Adam Hensley in his book on covenant relationships in the Psalter, and it is quite convincing. 269

Early Jewish reception of Psalm 89 nevertheless contrasts more starkly the two parts of Psalm 89: on the positive side of the covenant made with David (verses 1–4; 5–18; 19–37), and on the negative aspects of that covenant having been broken (verses 38–51). The *Septuagint makes some interesting changes to the prominence of the king, often applying to the whole people what was once intended to refer to the king. For example, in verse 40 (Eng. v. 39) the Hebrew speaks of the king’s ‘crown’ ( nezer ) being profaned; the Greek text, interested in the fate of Jerusalem, reads this as ‘the holy sanctuary’ ( hagiasma ) which has been defiled.

Psalm 89, with its focus on the rise and fall of the monarchy, is found in two of the *Qumran scrolls. Verses 20–22, 26, 23 ( sic ), 27–28 and 31—all on the positive aspect of the Davidic covenant—are found in 4QPs x(4Q236), one of the oldest scrolls. Verses 44–48, 50–53, meanwhile are found in 4QPs e—the part of the psalm which laments the end of David’s house. 270This suggests that the two parts of the psalm may once have had a separate reception history.

*Targum traces the history of this psalm back beyond David to Abraham (who in Jewish tradition is often seen as the composer of the psalm). Of its title, we read ‘Good insight, which was spoken by Abraham who came from the east’. This translates ‘Ezrahite’ as ‘from the east’ and ‘Ethan’ as ‘he came’. One other feature in Targum is the reinterpretation of mythological details: for example, the ‘heavenly beings’ in verse 7 (Eng. v. 6) are now ‘angels’; the reference in verse 11 (Eng. v. 10) to God crushing Rahab, the mythological dragon, is now also a reference to ‘Pharaoh, the wicked one’. The most telling reference, because it has an eye not only on the end of the monarchy after the Babylonian exile but on the end of the Temple itself, is verse 45 (Eng. v. 44). Rather like the Greek transformation of verse 40 (Eng. v. 39), 89:45 (Eng. v. 44) now reads: ‘You have caused the priests who sprinkle upon the altar and cleanse his people to cease…’ This is a bitter tale of exile, from Abraham to David, and from David to the loss of the Temple in the present day.